October 2021 Donation and Transplantation Summit

Thank you to 215 of our hospital partners from 67 of our region’s hospitals who attended our Organ Donation & Transplantation Summit virtually on Wednesday, October 27, 2021. Gift of Life Donor Program’s biannual Organ Donation and Transplantation Summit is part of Gift of Life’s Donation and Transplantation Improvement Initiative that launched in May 2017. The initiative aims to bring the region’s healthcare centers together to share best practices aimed at increasing donation rates and saving more lives.

The life’s work of featured Summit speaker, Robert Montgomery, MD, has received international attention following a major scientific advancement: the successful temporary transplant of a genetically modified pig kidney. Dr. Montgomery spoke about his personal experience as a heart transplant recipient and his groundbreaking research to address the critical shortage of life-saving organs available for transplant. Dr. Montgomery is the H. Leon Pachter, MD Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine Chair, and Department of Surgery Director, NYU Langone Transplant Institute.

Additional faculty and topics:

• “Pediatric DCD Heart Transplantation” was presented by John M. Edwards, RN, RRT, CPTC Clinical Administrator, Gift of Life Donor Program. This presentation highlighted the inspiring story of a 17-year-old boy who saved three lives through Organ Donation After Circulatory Death.
• The scientific paper, “Should Intensivists Be Involved In The Management Of Brain-Dead Organ Donors” was presented by Michael Moncure, III, MD, MHCM, FACS Professor of Surgery at University of Missouri-Kansas City and the Paul Coffey Endowed Chair of Surgery for Education Administrative Medical Director, Midwest Transplant Network. Dr. Moncure shared his research on the positive impact of intensivist management of brain dead organ donors on increasing the number of organs available for transplantation.
• Interactive case discussions were led by: Jennifer Axelband, DO, St. Luke’s University Hospital – Bethlehem; Michael G. Benninghoff, DO, Christiana Care Health System ; Nathaniel Marchetti, DO, Temple University Hospital ; Niels D. Martin, MD, FACS, FCCM, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania; and Steve Zanders, DO, FCCP, UPMC Harrisburg.